Combined hinge and glass door unit

ABSTRACT

A HINGE FOR USE WITH GLASS DOORS HAVING SOLID FRAMES INCLUDES A HINGE ELEMENT FOR A PIVOTAL HINGE OF THE TYPE USED WHERE THE DOOR IS PIVOTED AT TOP AND BOTTOM, WHICH ELEMENT IS ADJUSTABLE IN TWO DIRECTIONS TO PROVIDE MEANS FOR CORRECTING MISALIGNMENT IN HANGING THE DOOR.

139, 1971 v I w. J. HQRGAMJR COMBINED HINGE AND'YG'LASS DOOR UNIT Filed April 50, 1969 v Z-Sheets-Sh'eet 1 l4 AZ Fig. I

' Fig- ,2

I INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Willidrn J. Horgon, Jr.

Jan. 19, 1971 i w. J. HORGAN JR w 5 V COMBINED HINGE AND GLASSIDOOR UNIT Filed April '30, 1969 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4m AK Fig 4 INVENTOR. William J. Horqon, Jr.

BY MY -M ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent T 3,555,733 COMBINED HINGE AND GLASS DOOR UNIT William J. Horgan, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Blumcraft of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., 21 firm of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 30, 1969, Ser. No. 820,541 Int. Cl. Ed 7/08 US. Cl. 49-388 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinge for use with glass doors having solid frames includes a hinge element for a pivotal hinge of the type used where the door is pivoted at top and bottom, which element is adjustable in two directions to provide means for correct-ing misalignment in hanging the door.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to hinges and in particular to a novel hinge element for use with frame elements on glass doors.

In the prior art, glass doors of the type used in commerical establishments having a metal frame including a top and bottom shoe were hung by means of pivot-type hinges connected to the top and bottom shoes. These hinges included pintles mounted in the doorway and in the floor which were engaged by elements mounted in the shoes. The bottom shoes were normally provided with a thin walled channel extending substantially the full length of the shoe and opening downwardly. Within this channel a long arm extended from the pintle mounted in the floor to a point substanially removed therefrom within the channel. At this point the arm was engaged by adjustable means which coacted with the side walls of the channel to pivot and position the arm. Such arms were normally on the order of 7 to inches in length for leverage and load transmission reasons.

As shown in my co-pending application Ser. No. 707,- 055, filed Feb. 21, 1968, I have invented a new door consisting of a plurality of load carrying frame members and an integral glass member forming a unitary structure. The frame members are solid along the periphhery or base portions thereof, and accordingly, the prior art hinge elements of the type described would not be adaptable or acceptable for use with my new door construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a means for pivotally mounting a glass door which includes sol-id frame members and for adjusting the position of the door with respect to the floor mounted pintle. It comprises means externally engaging the frame and bearing against it, Which means are adjustable laterally with respect thereto, means for engaging the floor mounted pintle and means for engaging said last mentioned means and relatively rotatable thereabout, including adjustable means for fixedly engaging said first mentioned movement therebetween and being capable of locking both of said means in fixed positions relative to one another.

Accordingly, it is another object of this invention to provide a novel hinge element which is adjustable to compensate for misalignment, and adaptable for use with existing hinge elements.

It is a further element to provide such a hinge element which is particularly adaptable to pivotal hinges of the type used on swinging doors having solid frame members.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the drawings.

3,555,733 Patented Jan. 19, 1971 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of a pivotally mounted door having hinge elements at the top and bottom, shown, in a suitable environment;

FIG. 2 is a view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows 22 in FIG. 1 and enlarged and partially broken away for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 3 is a view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken as indicated by the lines and arrows 44 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a top view of the assembled elements shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Although specific forms of the invention have been selected for illustration in the drawings, and the following description is drawn in specific terms for purpose of describing these forms of the invention, this description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a door designated generally 10 which includes a glass panel 11 and a metal frame including a top shoe 12 and a bottom shoe 14. The door is supported by pivot type hinges attached to the top and bottom shoes and the supporting frame and door structure.

The upper hinge '16 is more clearly shown in FIGS. 2

and 3 and comprises a generally box-like rectangular housing 18 which has a peripheral groove about three sides so that it fits snuggly into a rectangular notch in the shoe 12, overlapping and engaging the sides of the shoe with its supporting flanges 20. The housing 18 is securely fastened to the shoe 12 as by means of a machine screw 22 which passes through the base of the housing and is threaded into the shoe 12 as shown in FIG. 3.

The housing 18 contains a central bore which has press fitted therein a bushing 24 forming a bearing for the pintle 26. The pintle is normally retained in the frame surrounding the door by any suitable means well known in the art and provides the means whereby the upper portion of the door is retained and pivoted.

The housing and bearing remain fixedly engaged to the pintle 26 while the door itself is movable with respect to the housing. To accommodate this movement, the slot through which the screw 22 passes in the housing 18 is elongated.

If it is necessary to shift the door 10, FIG. 1, to the left or right shims 28 and 29 which are used to space the housing 18 in the slot in the shoe of the door, can be rearranged to provide more shims on one side of the housing 18 than the other.

The hinge just described provides for some lateral adjustment, but the principal source of adjustment in accordance with this invention is provided at the base of the door. The bottom shoe 14 has attached to it a hinge designated generally 30, FIG. 1, which supports the door and provides a means about which it pivots. This hinge is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 6. One element of the hinge comprises a floor mounted pintle 32, FIG. 2 which is a standard item Well known in the art. This pintle is mounted to a plate fixed in the floor and can be rotated with the door. The pintle is generally rectangular in cross section as shown in FIG. 6 and the sides are beveled inwardly toward the upper end to 'accept the mating hinge member. My invention lies in the remaining elements of the hinge in combination with my new door, as I shall nOW describe in more detail.

The elements of the hinge which are attached to the door include a housing 34 which has a peripherial slot about three sides thereof so that the side walls form extending flanges 36 (approximately /2 of an inch thick) to engage and overlap the sides of the bottom shoe 14. The slot in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings is on the order of A of an inch wide, as is the shoe 14. Thus the housing 34 is designed to fit snuggly against the sides of the shoes 14, embracing it in a sliding fit. The housing is seated in the notch in the shoe 14 so that its bottom surface is in the same plane as the bottom of the shoe 14.

The shoe 14 is solid around the periphery or base portion thereof and, as described in my co-pending application, has a channel means formed above the base on the inner side thereof for reception of the glass panel 11. The frame of which the shoe is part is attached to and coacts with the panel 11 so that the whole forms a unitary structure, and accordingly, a load imparted to the face of the glass panel 11 in order to open it will be distributed through frame member 14. As previously stated, prior art frame members were hollow at the base and had only thin support walls forming a channel. It was therefore necessary to place the force reaction point for the pivot arm as far removed on as possible from the pivot point in order to get the greatest mechanical advantage and prevent the shoe from buckling. The solid frame construction in accordance with my invention makes possible the use of a compact hinge element. Thus by virtue of the overlapping flanges and snug fit which the housing 34 has with the shoe 14, the forces are concentrated and distributed to the shoe in the immediate area of the pintle.

The inner sides 40 and 42 of the housing formed by the peripheral groove are spaced from the side walls 44, 46 of the notch in the shoe 14 to provide a clearance for lateral adjustment. Such adjustment is made by the set screws 48, 50 which are threaded into holes in the side walls 40 and 42. The set screws are withdrawn to make up the space so, that the housing then fits snuggly with the heads of the set screws bearing against the walls 44 and 46 of the notch in the shoe 14. By extending the screw relatively more than the other the housing can be shifted laterally within the notch. To accommodate this shifting, a slotted opening is provided in the upper wall 52 of the housing through which a suitable fastening means, such as machine screw 54, passes into a threaded hole in the shoe 14. The head of the machine screw engages the sloping side walls of the opening to retain the housing in the notch.

The housing has a blind bore 60, FIG. 4 which accepts a cap element 62. The cap is substantially cylindrical and the top of the cap rests against the blind end of the bore while the sides of the cap rotatably engage the sides of the bore. The cap has a centrally located blind hole disposed axially therein and having slopping sides to accommodate the upper end of the pintle 32 as shown in FIG. 4.

The cap 62 has an ear 64 extending from one side into a clearance slot 66 which extends from one side of the bore 60 in the housing. On either side of the housing, set screws 70, 72 are threaded through the /2 inch thick Walls to engage the ear 64 as shown in FIG. 6. By advancing one set screw, relatively more than the other, the housing can be rotated about the cap 62. By tightening both set screws against the ear 64, the housing can be fixed in position with respect to the cap.

Thus, my invention works by providing a means for engaging a standard pintle and rotating therewith, which means can be fixedly connected to a solid shoe to pivot a door, said means providing for the relative adjustment of said door with respect to said pintle. In operation, the housing 34 is placed in the notch in the shoe 14 in its correct lateral position and then the door with the housing and cap is placed over the pintle 32. If the door does not hang correctly or close properly against the jam rotational adjustment is possible by means of backing off one of the set screws and advancing the other. As far as lateral ad- 4 justment is concerned this can be taken care of prior to the time the housing is inserted into the notch in the shoe 14 by simply measuring the distance from the center of the pintle and adjusting the set screws 48 and 50 accordingly.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangement of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of this invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principal and scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.

It will further be understood that the Abstract of the Disclosure set forth above is intended to provide a nonlegal technical statement of the contents of the disclosure in compliance with the Rules and Practice of the United States Patent Office, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention described and claimed herein.

What is claimed is:

1. A pivotal hinge element for use with the metal frame portion of a glass and metal door and mating rotatable pintle element, comprising:

(a) Means for engaging said pintle for rotation therewith;

(b) Housing means rotatably engaging said last mentioned means; and

(c) Adjustment means engaging said housing means and said first mentioned means for adjusting and fixing the rotated position of said housing means with respect to said first mentioned means;

(d) Said housing means overlapping and engaging. said frame and coacting therewith to transmit the rotational force load required to rotate the door about the pintle.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said first mentioned means includes a substantially cylindrical cap having an axial hole therein for receiving said pintle;

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said housing includes a plurality of flanges extending therefrom, said flanges being in sliding engagement with said frame.

4. The invention of claim 1 wherein said adjustment means includes a plurality of screws threaded through said housing to contact said first mentioned means.

5. The invention of claim 1 wherein lateral adjustment means are provided between said housing and said frame for adjusting and fixing the lateral position of said housing with respect to said frame.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said lateral adjustment means includes at least one screw threaded into the housing to contact said frame.

'7. The invention of claim 5 wherein said housing means includes a body having a peripheral groove about a portion thereof, said groove forming flanges for engaging said frame in a snug fit and plurality of screws are provided in threaded engagement with said housing means in said peripheral groove to extend therein to contact said frame.

8. The invention of claim 1 wherein said frame is provided with a notch for accepting said housing means, said housing means includes a body having a peripheral groove forming flanges which engage said frame in a snug fit, and means are provided to attach said body to said frame. F

9. The invention of claim 2 wherein said cap includes an ear extending from one side thereof and said housing includes a body having a substantially cylindrical hole therein for receiving said cap in sliding engagement with the cylindrical portion thereof and a clearance slot for reception of said ear, said ear being spaced from said body within said slot, and a plurality of screws are disposed to pass in threaded engagement through the walls of said body to contact said ear, said screws and said ear providing said adjustment means.

10. A combined hinge and glass door unit comprising a door including a glass panel and a plurality of frame members coacting with said glass panel and forming a unitary structure, and a pivotal hinge element externally engaging one of said frame members and bearing against it and coacting therewith to transmit the rotational force load required to pivot the door unit, and including means for engaging an external pivotal pintle to pivot therewith, means for engaging said last mentioned means and relatively rotatable thereabout inclduing adjustable means for fixedly engaging said first mentioned means in a plurality of positions and causing relative movement therebetween and being capable of locking both of said means in fixed positions relative to one another.

11. The invention of claim 10 wherein said frame includes at least one solid member engaging said hinge element.

12. A combined hinge and glass door unit, comprising: a door including a glass panel and a plurality of frame members coacting with said glass panel and forming a unitary structure; and a pivotal hinge means comprising means for engaging an external pintle for pivotal movement therewith, housing means rotatably engaging said last mentioned means and overlapping and engaging one of said frame members and coacting therewith to transmit the rotational force load necessary to pivot said unit about said pintle, and lateral adjustment means engaging said housing means and said frame member for ad justing and fixing the lateral position of said housing means with respect to said frame member.

13. The invention of claim 12 wherein said frame member is provided with a notch for accepting said housing means, said housing means comprising a body having a peripheral groove forming flanges which embrace said frame member in a snug fit, and means are provided to attach said body to said frame member.

14 The invention of claim 13 wherein said lateral adjustment means includes at least one screw threaded into said body in contact with said frame member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,303,886 12/1942 Miller et al. 16-129 2,530,331 11/1950 Hubbs 16l29 2,781,542 2/1957 West 16129 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 16-131; 49501 

